Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can ease inflammation and reduce pain following exercise, helping athletes recover from low oxygen levels while also boosting their mood and improving sleep. It shows promise in treating sports injuries and fatigue, including acute muscle strains, joint sprains, and chronic overuse injuries.

Top coaches and athletes around the world use hyperbaric oxygen to prevent and treat athletic fatigue and injuries. When injuries occur during workouts, this “cutting-edge” technology can speed up recovery and help athletes train stronger!

What is Athletic Fatigue?

Athletic fatigue refers to the body's inability to maintain function after intense physical activity. This can lead to physiological and biochemical changes that affect performance.

Fatigue signals a temporary drop in physical capacity, which can only be restored through rest. If fatigue persists and activity increases, it can lead to chronic fatigue, which is pathological. An imbalance between oxygen demand and supply during exercise is a major cause of athletic fatigue. Finding ways to quickly eliminate the negative effects of exercise and recover from fatigue has become a key focus in sports medicine.

Hyperbaric oxygen, as a physical therapy, has proven effective for many hypoxic conditions. With ongoing research into sports-related injuries and the mechanisms of hyperbaric therapy, its role in combating athletic fatigue is gaining attention.

Causes of Athletic Fatigue

During intense exercise:

1. Oxygen supply falls short, increasing anaerobic glycolysis in muscles, reducing energy (ATP), and raising lactic acid levels.

2. As ATP breaks down, lactic acid and ammonia accumulate, leading to fatigue. When activity stops, the body rests, allowing oxygen supply to exceed demand and ammonia to be quickly metabolized, while lactic acid is cleared more slowly.

Clinical Manifestations

Athletic fatigue can be physical or psychological. Physical fatigue is marked by slow movements, insensitivity, decreased coordination, insomnia, irritability, and anxiety. Psychological fatigue includes symptoms like difficulty focusing, memory issues, and sluggish cognitive processing.

Physical fatigue can be classified into systemic, local, central, and peripheral fatigue, with varying degrees of severity. Mild fatigue can be resolved with short rest, moderate fatigue includes muscle pain and heart palpitations, while severe fatigue may involve headaches, chest pain, nausea, or vomiting.

How Hyperbaric Oxygen Relieves Fatigue

1. Clears Lactic Acid:

   After exercise, lactic acid can accumulate up to 15mmol/L. Hyperbaric oxygen raises tissue oxygen pressure, facilitating rapid lactic acid breakdown through oxidation, conversion to glucose in the liver, and promoting excretion via the kidneys and skin.

   
   

2. Accelerates Ammonia Clearance:

   Blood ammonia is cleared by converting it to urea in the liver, a process requiring ATP, and by synthesizing glutamine, which also needs ATP. Hyperbaric oxygen enhances aerobic glucose oxidation, producing ATP to help eliminate ammonia buildup.

   
   

3. Increases Urea Clearance:

   Hyperbaric oxygen significantly boosts urine output, reducing reabsorption of urea nitrogen in the kidneys, which speeds up its clearance and quickly alleviates fatigue.

   
   

4. Reduces Free Radical Damage:

   Hyperbaric oxygen mitigates free radical damage to cell membranes, protecting cellular integrity after exercise and maintaining normal function. It can enhance antioxidant enzyme activity, improving the body’s ability to clear oxygen free radicals.

   
   

5. Improves Brain Function:

   Hyperbaric oxygen boosts brain oxygen levels and blood flow, “recharging” the brain for clarity, sharp thinking, and enhanced focus, which benefits learning and work efficiency.

When to Use Hyperbaric Oxygen:

1. Before competitions, to increase oxygen reserves, delay fatigue, and lower its severity.

2. After training sessions, for quick recovery from exertion.

3. When signs of overtraining appear during training.

4. Between closely scheduled competitions to aid recovery.

5. During the transition from low to high training levels and after breaks, to improve physical adaptation and eliminate fatigue.